Ligety secures his third Gold of the Championships: “This was the one I came for.”

Ted Ligety demonstrated why he is the main star of the 2013 World Championships in winning the Giant Slalom. With a lead of 1.30 seconds after the first run, the HEAD World Cup rebel dominated proceedings. After the race Ligety explained that this has been “a dream, the best week of ski racing in my life, so phenomenal,” adding it had “far exceeded” his expectations. “The GS was what I really wanted.” Marcel Hirscher recovered from an at odds first run to take second with Manfred Moelgg taking third just ahead of Aksel Lund Svindal.

Ligety felt that his first run had been smooth but that it had been easy to ski the first run so clean when the course was clean, “The second run was harder, the conditions neutralizes my technique and it is not easy to give it all in the bumps,” Ligety explained.

With Aksel Lund Svindal in second after the first run, a double medal haul looked promising for the HEAD racers but a disappointed Svindal commented after the race that for the second Championships running he was left in fourth place. While he had lead after Garmisch this time he had been in second: “I did not make a good enough run on the second run,” explained Svindal.

With two Gold’s already in the bag, Ligety felt the pressure of expectation in going for the third Gold. “I came here to win the Giant Slalom and it would have felt almost like failure if I did not do this,” he explained. “It is a cool feeling to have matched those that have won three gold medals at the same Championships,” reflected Ligety. This was the first time a racer had taken three Gold medals in the same World Championships since Jean-Claude Killy in 1968

"I feel far from in control," said Ligety about how he skis fast. "It's an optical illusion when I look like I'm that in control." It was no optical illusion this time as he became the sixth racer to defend his World Championship Giant Slalom title in history.